Gareth Edwards, director of the micro-budget sci-fi thriller "Monsters," won Best Director, with his film also winning Best Technical Achievement and Best Achievement in Production.

We can't say we're surprised by "The King's" dominance. We enjoyed it, and it's exactly the kind of film that awards-granting bodies love. But the further we move away from it, the less impressed we are. Yes, Firth, Rush and Bonham Carter were all excellent, and it's a fascinating story. But at the end of the day it's really just a simple underdog film crossed with a buddy comedy.

"Monsters"

Five years after much of the country has been infected with alien life-forms that crashed to Earth aboard a NASA satellite, a photo journalist is forced to escort his boss' daughter from the southern half of Mexico north to the U.S.

(Published Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010)

Best Screenplay
David Seidler (The King's Speech)

Most Promising Newcomer
Joanne Froggatt (In Our Name)

Best Debut Director
Clio Barnard (The Arbor)

Best Achievement in Production
Monsters

Best Technical Achievement
Gareth Edwards (Monsters)

Best Foreign Film
A Prophet

Raindance Award
Son of Babylon

The Richard Harris Award (for outstanding contribution by an actor to British film)Helena Bonham Carter